Early Spring Florida Standouts
At this point, it feels like I’m a part time resident of Florida. I spend a lot of time in the Sunshine State for work and for leisure. Because I own a SunPass, and I’ve logged more hours traveling to see Day By Day than most people in the world, I feel like I’ve earned the right to be a little bit of a Florida homer.
Through the first month of AAU hoops, I’ve gotten to see plenty of prospects from my home away from home. With a pair of live periods coming up, these are some names from the 2024 and 2025 classes that have impressed during my time in the gym throughout March and April.
Abaev gained fans on the HoopSeen team last season when he was playing with the Georgia Stars in the 15U division. Now, the 2025 guard is playing up in 17U with SOH Elite, and he looks poised to have a breakout at some point this spring or summer. Abaev is a 6-foot-6 perimeter player who can slot in as a guard or wing. Right now, he’s probably most well known for his shooting. Abaev can heat up from deep, but he can also be a playmaker with the ball. Throughout the years, he’s shown outstanding vision and an ability to thread passes through tight spaces.
I’m taking a guy like Ramez Zayed on my team all day long. He’s tough, he has a never-say-die approach to the game, and he produces on a game-by-game basis. He finds ways to impact the game in every way. He can be a big-time scorer—especially at the rim—and he’s a tenacious defender on the ball. Zayed will is good for a handful of steals per game. He fills stat sheets across the board.
I got to see Guimaraes for the first time at the Tip-Off Classic. Right off the bat, his size and length are eye-catching at 7-foot. He’s not slight either. He can play in a physical game. Guimaraes is an outstanding rim-protector. He blocks and alters shots with ease. He’s also a major impact on the glass. Guimaraes has some polishing to do on the offensive end, but he showed a solid foundation to work with. He showed flashes of a skilled offensive game in terms of ball handling and touch.
Jones isn’t the biggest guy on the floor, but don’t let that be a deterrent because he’s a hooper through and through. He’s a tough shot maker. The lefty PG can shoot it and use his speed and craft to get to the basket where he converts creative layups. He’s a hard player to keep in front. Jones plays an exciting brand of basketball, and he helped lead the Nightrydas to an undefeated weekend in Atlanta at the Tip-Off Classic.
Thiam popped onto my radar at the HoopExchange camp in March, and he backed that standout outing with another at the Tip-Off Classic. The 7-footer has so much potential. His physical advantages are obvious and help on defense and rebounding. He’s got plenty of untapped potential on offense as well. Thiam has shown a workable skillset in terms of being a facilitator out of the paint and having a shot that looks like it can become a bonafide weapon from mid-range at the very least. He has a chance to emerge as a national name at some point down the road.
